Posted on 12/24/2011 4:34:44 AM PST by Cronos
Every few years Christmas is on a Sunday and suddenly believers face a dilemma: Stay home hanging stockings and opening gifts, or upend those cherished domestic traditions and go to Sunday church services. That is, if their church is even open.
Nearly 10% of Protestant churches will be closed on Christmas Sunday this year, according to LifeWay Research, and most pastors who are opening up say they expect far fewer people than on other Sundays. Other reports suggest that churches across the board are scaling down their services in anticipation of fewer worshipers.
"We have to face the reality of families who don't want to struggle to get kids dressed and come to church," Brad Jernberg of Dallas's Cliff Temple Baptist Church told the Associated Baptist Press. Similarly, Beth Car Baptist Church in Halifax, Va., is planning a short service featuring bluegrass riffs on Christmas music. "I'll do a brief sermon, and then we're going home," said Pastor Mike Parnell.
..St. Augustine of Hippo said that such associations should spur the faithful to deeper observance, not to downplaying the holiday altogether or tailoring it to the prevailing culture: "So, brothers and sisters, let us keep this day as a festivalnot, like the unbelievers, because of the sun up there in the sky, but because of the One who made that sun."
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Spur Cross Cowboy Church will be having services on Sunday at 9:30am at the white church at Pioneer Living History Museum north of Phoenix at Pioneer Rood off of I-17 (shameless plug). There was never a question about it.
We had our Old Fashioned Cowboy Christmas last night to a packed house with standing room only. Since I’m the music director and my band was providing the music, I didn’t get to talk to anyone, but the report has been including Christ is a Christmas celebration is extremely popular. One woman told my husband she was 70 and she thought what we did last night was the best Christmas ever.
Merry Christmas!!!!
My church will have 7 services between Thursday and Saturday @ 3 locations.
I will not be a member of a church that is closed on a Sunday just because it is Christmas Day.
I find it pretty humorous that people can get so self-righteous towards others because they choose to worship differently on one day of a year. I bet there are a lot of people that might actually grow in their faith by shutting the church doors occasionally and practicing that “where two or more are gathered, He is there among them” just a little bit away from their church buildings. Shame on some of you who condemn others who believe that giving a gift of themselves to their families one morning a year is such a sacrilege while working tirelessly and faithfully the rest of the year for the Kingdom.
See my 13. The source reported the glass as being at least 91% full. The blogger flipped it and the holy rollers swallowed it.
www.masstimes.org
I’ll go to a church when I find one that isn’t about being a business and isn’t full of Sunday hypocrites. The last time I found one was in the South where I am not.
That "one day of the year" just happens to be Christmas.
Yours is simply a lame attempt at rationalizing the blowing off of going to Church because Christmas falls on a Sunday and happens to inconvenience your fun in the worship of materialism. You'd probably be cooking up another lame excuse to blow off attending Church on Sunday if Christmas fell on a Saturday.
"Not forsaking our assembly, as some are accustomed; but comforting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching." Hebrews 10:25
"Shame on some of you..."
Save some of that loathing for yourself, kid. I'd like to witness the defense you attempt to mount for your spiritual sloth during your particular judgment. "But God, I HAD presents to open!"
"And we charge you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother walking disorderly, and not according to the tradition which they have received of us." 2 Thessalonians 3:6
In the Catholic Church, it doesn’t matter what day Christmas falls on. It is a Holy day of Obligation and we are compelled to attend Mass. In fact, it is one of the two days out of the year when many who have fallen away do attend, the other being Easter. Last year, when Christmas was on a Saturday, Mass at my church was heavily attended, and then the next day, being a Sunday, when you would have thought many would not attend two days in a row, the church was packed to capacity, SRO. Even the priest was amazed at the great number.
One of the lessons of Christianity is not to be judgmental. This is probably the hardest teaching of Jesus to follow, but I strive to do this. So I attend church for my own beliefs and ignore those around me.
Merry Christmas to you.
God bless all of you. And come to Mass!
Which Christmas Mass are you attending? [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
**He also reminded us that we will see lots of new faces - ones we probably haven’t seen since Easter Sunday. Funny.**
I think if priests word this right at the beginning of Mass, many of these C and E Catholics will be reminded that the new translations are so true to the former Latin — and welcome them back.
Have you talked with him about doing this? I haven’t yet, my priest was sick and I was out of it because of having a fractured tooth extracted.
So come to Mass at the local Catholic Church this Sunday and still keep it a family day!
Good judgment on your part. Merry Christmas.
“Christmas,” the birth of Tammuz, has nothing to do with my Lord, Jesus Christ.
Rosh Hashanna, the ancient feast prophesying the birth of Christ, is the Biblical celebration of his birth; why would a Christian want to replace that with the birthdate of a pagan false god? (invented by a false ‘church’)
Merry Christmas to you and yours Salvation.
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